Abbott Laboratories (ABT:NYSE)

Abbott Laboratories announced three-year data from the first 30 patients in the first phase of the ABSORB clinical trial, demonstrating that its fully bioabsorbable drug eluting coronary stent successfully treated coronary artery disease and was absorbed into the walls of treated arteries. Patients in this first phase of the ABSORB trial experienced no stent thrombosis (blood clots) out to three years and no new major adverse cardiac events between six months and three years (3.6% at three years). These results were presented at the 2009 American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions. To build upon the promising results of the ABSORB trial, Abbott is initiating a large-scale trial called ABSORB EXTEND, which will enroll approximately 1,000 patients from up to 100 centers in Europe, Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America. ABSORB EXTEND is a single-arm study designed to further evaluate the performance of Abbott's proprietary fully bioabsorbable stent technology. The study will enroll patients with more complex coronary artery disease and is slated to begin enrolling before the end of the year.

Abbott Laboratories, a global health care company announced the opening of its new Abbott Nutrition facility at the Research Park on the University of Illinois campus. Abbott will use the facility to research and develop nutritional products for infants through adults. The company, which operates more than 100 facilities worldwide and sells products in more than 130 countries, will initially collaborate with faculty and students in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. The company is beginning with 11 student interns and full time management.

Abbott Laboratories announced that an important assay used to aid in the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) will soon be available on Abbott's ARCHITECT immunoassay analyzers. FDA has granted 510(k) clearance for an antibody cyclic-citrulinated peptide, or anti-CCP assay, to run on the world class systems. any patients with RA develop an immune response against proteins containing citrulline long before they present symptoms of the disease. Studies show detecting the level of these antibodies earlier in the disease continuum, in conjunction with other clinical information, is critical to the early diagnosis of the disease. The American College of Rheumatology treatment guidelines for RA recommends early diagnosis of the disease and timely introduction of therapies to prevent potentially irreversible joint damage. The assay was developed by Axis-Shield to run on Abbott's ARCHITECT i1000SR and i2000SR systems. The anti-CCP assay is already approved and available on the Abbott ARCHITECT outside the United States. The ARCHITECT Anti-CCP assay is a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) for the semi-quantitative determination of the lgG class of autoantibodies specific to cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) in human serum or plasma on the ARCHITECT i System. Detection of anti-CCP antibodies is used as an aid in the diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and should be used in conjunction with other clinical information. This product is for in vitro diagnostic use only. Use of this product requires the handling of human specimens, and it is recommended that all human-sourced materials be considered potentially infectious. This product contains sodium azide, and both the material and its container should be disposed of safely.